Madinane says the NDP’s focus tackles three important impediments to employment:

1. The inadequacy of education and skills development

a. NDP contains a detailed set of recommendations to upgrade education and skills development in primary, secondary and tertiary education areas.

2. The unfriendly nature of the labour market (a constraint that has long since been pointed out by the business sector)

a. With regard to improving the functioning of the labour market, the NDP calls for changes in legislation to make it easier for employers to get rid of inefficient workers. At the same time, the NDP emphasises the need for a youth-wage subsidy for first-time job seekers to find employment. These prescriptions are a direct attempt to improve the fluidity of the labour market, a necessary condition for higher rates of employment in the economy.

3. Insufficiency with regard to small business activity and entrepreneurship

a. The NDP emphasises the need to undo stringent regulations that inhibit such businesses and suggests microeconomic reforms focusing on greater policy and regulatory certainty for the SMME sector.